In the Palace
by ZeeZee Tennant
Summary: Being in love with a prince is difficult enough, especially if he's engaged and doesn't know I exist...yet
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"HERE!" I jolt upwards as the door bursts open. The head cook, a big woman with welts on her face as big as the rest of her, barrels into the kitchen and dumps a plentiful sack of potatoes on the table. The wooden legs creak under the weight. "Make yourself useful and peel these." She pauses and looks around the room carefully, making sure no one _important_ is around, and then drops her voice to a whisper. "There are special guests coming to the castle tomorrow." A warning.

"Guests?" I frown. "But I didn't hear of anyone visiting the palace this week." And then add 'Ms. Gretchen' at the end as to not to sound rude. Though it really doesn't change the fact that she looks at me as if I was some blob of month old cheese she found behind one of the stoves.

"Yeah well, these invited themselves. Think they are all that _just_ because their daughter is engaged to the prince. Ha! What a spoiled brat she is."

The image of long blonde hair and light blue eyes form in my mind making my heart beat painfully hard against my chest. "He proposed?" I bite my lip hard. The disappointment in my voice is embarrassingly obvious _._

"He might as well have. He didn't seem annoyed by the arrangement."

"…to Diaspro?"

"Who else has had their eyes on him for so long?"

I keep my eyes cast down as I pull a white cloth from one of the pockets of my long skirts and use it to tie my long, red hair back. The potatoes are full of dirt and grime, obviously recently picked. I wipe the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand.

From the corner of my eye I notice that Ms. Gretchen is staring at me, and at that moment I know that she knows that I know, because, obviously, fate is against me. "Don't tell me _you_ expected for the Prince to swoon over you."

My eyes widen.

 _Oh no…_

Ms. Gretchen starts laughing hard and I instantly feel my face heating up. "Get over yourself girl and get back to work. It's not your place."

My face burns with shame as I grab another potato.

As if it wasn't enough to know I stood no chance.

As if it wasn't enough to know he doesn't even know I exist.

I try to keep as much distance as I can from M. Gretchen, which isn't that hard considering that the kitchen is huge.

Thank goodness for that.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

We continue to work in silence for an hour or so. The polished, wooden counter feels smooth beneath my bruised fingers.

"Anyways, finish here and then lights out. It's near midnight and I expect everyone, including you, to be here first thing in the morning," and with that the heavy wooden door shut.

After the sack was finally emptied ( _Finally!_ ), I leave the dishes on the sink (that's the dishwasher's job anyways), and grab the candle lamp on the counter. Vanilla scented, no less.

I am careful to use the tiniest amount of magic, just a tug of it, to create a small flame on the tip of my finger. It doesn't burn and I can't help smiling at this. It's proof that I _used_ to bespecial. I light the candle and hurriedly snuff the flame out.

It's not that magic is prohibited, just the opposite actually, but if anyone here were to find out that I possessed some, well, it wouldn't be pretty.

Those 'Magical' tend to be victims of harsh and unfair treatment in the palace thanks to the envy of the 'Normal' workers and servants. One of the stable workers made the mistake of using some of his to control the horses. A week later a guard found him hidden in a corner of the Greenhouse, all bloody and beaten. That person later resigned saying it was the cause of stress, though we all knew the truth. It was lesson learned to keep these things secret.

Being Magical means that they have a drop of blood or two of royalty in them; maybe from a great grandfather, or a cousin six times removed. Me? I have no idea.

I'm just…Bloom.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

My living quarters are too small to even be described as an actual room. The bed already took up most of it, making it even harder for me to practice magic. That is why I usually go to an old passageway I found during my first months here. Rarely ever used during daylight, let alone nighttime.

Escaped melodies float in from the open window and envelop me as I quickly change out of my uniform. The sound of violins is beautiful and cheerful. And, _of course_ , not meant for me. They are meant to celebrate the prince's engagement to the magically powerful Diaspro.

The thought of it just makes me want to throw up. A feeling overtakes me. _Jealousy_. The life I so desperately want she was given since birth.

I curl and uncurl my toes, relieving the pressure of having to wear pinchy shoes all day long and head out as quietly as possible. I had made sure to light some incense and the lantern so it would look as if I was indeed getting ready for bed.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The vibrant red of the velvet curtains match my hair. I don't even bother walking in the shadows anymore. I learned long ago that the extra effort was in vain. No one was ever out after hours, and the guards didn't even bother to do their rounds in the servant's hall anymore. That of course also had its disadvantages. I roll my eyes hard.

 _Gee, lucky me. A would-be victim in a rebel attack._

I round a corner and go up a set of spiral steps. Ivy has made tiny cracks in the stone and wrapped itself around the columns. The violins have long since ceased.

My mind wanders.

I mean, of course it would be her, why wouldn't it be? with her as queen the Eraklyon bloodline would practically be secured as one of the most powerful, both politically and magically. It most definitely would never be me.

I sigh, and carefully take off my necklace, a blue ribbon tied around a small gold medallion. The only thing that was not given to me here at the palace. The detailed metal feels cool to the touch, a contrast to my usually hot skin which can reach up to temperatures that would be too high to bear if I was a Normal.

If it wasn't for the moonlight softly lighting the area with its peaceful aura, the place would have been completely dark.

I close my eyes and try to picture happy things since it helps with concentration. The scenarios ranged from large fields of flowers, to cranberry scones, to a specific pair of blue eyes that could make even the most coldhearted shed some of their ice. Eye contact, the most frightening yet absolutely most wonderful thing ever created.

Depending on the person, that is.

I fill my lungs with air and exhale all the sadness, pain, and stress. And _there_. It's happening. My feet no longer feel the cold floor and I am as light as a feather. I can't help but giggle at the delight that comes with floating and the ecstasy that comes with imagining golden hair, a strong jaw and the exuberant grin that adorns it.

The hall echoes my childlike laughter. I can feel my back pressing into the ceiling and my smile widens even more.

There is no one to look at me as inferior, no one to hide the most important part of me from. The one that is proof that I –or at least my ancestors- used to _be_ someone. That maybe, just maybe, there is a tremendously good reason as to why I don't even know my real last name or where I was born. It is a nice feeling.

I forget about everything.

...that is, until I hear someone clear their throat. Which is impossible. Until I hear it again, even louder this time, obviously trying to catch my attention.

 _What?!_

I open my eyes and my body turns stiff as I am met with another pair that watch me from below.

I look like – No, _am_ \- a deer caught in headlights. Really big and blue headlights.

A loud gasp escapes my lips. My medallion falls from my hands making bell like sounds as it hits the marvel floor.

I had never noticed how high palace ceilings actually were until now, but one thing is for sure, I would _not_ make a sweet sound when _I_ hit the ground.

My long hair is no longer sprawled around the ceiling. Gravity has taken its hold on me and pulls on me like an anchor. Reality hits.

 _I'M FALLING!_

I let out a scream and I flail my arms trying to grab at nothing. "DON'TWORRY!" A deep voice hurriedly and anxiously calls out. A slur of words that I can barely make out.

"I GOT..." I hear a grunt as strong arms catch me

"you..."

I look up at him. Grateful for him having caught me, and mortified for having _been_ caught. Sudden jolts of electricity pass from where his hands hold me tightly to him. I notice that his breath catches.

Anyone would have wished for the honor of having been saved by the prince. My body is still trembling from the adrenaline. His blonde hair _(too impossibly blonde)_ reflects the moonlight.

I stare at him drinking in the small details of his face. The dimples, the freckle on his lower lip, his long, dark eyelashes, then his gaze, which I notice, was also studying me.

My body temperature rises well above normal.

His deep voice rattles me out of my trance and makes my heart skip a beat or two.

"Loss of focus," he says. "Floating spells are always the trickiest"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I quickly fling myself out of his embrace. Rather ungracefully I should add, and fall with a loud _thud_ to the floor. My cotton nightgown rides up, exposing white thighs.

 _The embarrassment is never ending!_

"I-Im" I have no idea what to say, or do, or anything. A million thoughts race through my mind at once and I find myself with the inability to hold on to any of them. I pick myself up from the floor and settle on giving a slight curtsy.

 _Thank goodness my hair hides my absolutely blazing face._

Prince Sky starts laughing, and I'm surprised to learn that it is as ungraceful as my fall. Completely unrestrained, making me feel even more mortified of his first impression of me. He grins and looks at me as if I was a weird specimen he just needed to know more about. I get goosebumps.

"So? He asks, his laughter having subsided a bit.

 _So?_

He doesn't have his golden crown or cape on. Just a slightly unbuttoned shirt, linen pants, and shoes that were probably more expensive than three whole rooms combined. "Are you going to tell me why you were stuck to the ceiling during the middle of the night?" Sky pauses for a second and then adds, "and please, don't be so formal."

 _Oh!_ I straighten up but make sure my face is still partially hidden behind my mess of red hair.

"It's a rather long story. One that I am sure is not as interesting as to why you were here to witness such an act," I say.

He chuckles and my eyes widen as he steps closer and touches a lock of my hair. Such an intimate gesture leaves me with a strong sense of yearning.

"I'm not as sure about that." He stares intently into my eyes. Then I notice his gaze shift downward and I really hope it wasn't just my imagination.

Sky is even more handsome up close. More... _real_.

"You seem familiar, have we met before?" He asks with a kindness in his tone.

I dare not say that I work in the kitchens, after all, like Mrs. Gretchen said, it is not my place to be talking face to face with royalty. So coincidentally, I decide to leave that tidbit out.

"Not personally," I try to sound confident, though I was everything but. A strong breeze enters from the large open windows and I shudder. He doesn't notice which is a small relief.

"Ah." He contemplates and his lips turn into a half smile. "Good, because I am sure I would have remembered such a...beautiful face."

 _Beautiful?_ I am at a loss for words and my fingers start aching from the burst of temperature, begging for relief. I dare not let myself catch aflame. Instead I stutter out, "T-thank you Prince Sky."

He lets go of my hair but doesn't move farther away. If anything, he feels even closer now and I notice that he seems to be waiting. And then I realize that he's waiting for _me._ "Oh, right, uh. My name is Bloom," I can't help curtsying again as I say this.

He repeats my name slowly, as if savoring the way it rolls off his tongue and grins even more. "Bloom. A pleasure to meet you, " then he softly takes my hand and kisses it, burning his lips at the contact...


End file.
